Getting to Know Your Nib
A pointed nib has a slit running vertically across the middle, splitting it into two tines.
When you write without putting any pressure on the nib, the stroke that you’ll produce is a thin stroke, often called a hairline. You can create a hairline whether you are writing in an upward motion (upstroke) or a downward motion (downstroke).
When you put pressure on the nib, the two tines will splay out, revealing a gap in the middle where the ink will flow to form a shade. Note that the natural way you are able to move the pen while applying pressure is downwards. The pointed pen isn’t made for creating shades using an upstroke.
Note as well that nibs have different levels of flexibility on them. Nibs like Nikko G require a heavier pressure to create a shade while Hunt 101 needs only a gentle prompt and the tines are easy to separate.
Notice that the two tines are sharp enough to make grooves on the paper. Try this without ink first: apply a gentle pressure on the nib to separate the tines and then move your pen downwards. If you look closely, the two tines will have created a gutter-like indentation on the paper. Now try this with ink and you’ll see that the ink will flow onto the paper and stop at the gutters you’ve made.
Downstroke + pressure = shade
Downstroke (no pressure) = hairline
Upstroke (no pressure) = hairline
Upstroke + pressure = don’t do it. :) You’ll ruin the nib!
Here are some exercise ideas for you to get familiar with your nib. Remember to try to keep the nib parallel to the slant lines (55 degrees for copperplate) while you are writing.
Write hairlines using an upstroke, then using a downstroke. Get a feel of how smoothly the nib glides onto the paper.
Play around with how steep you hold your pen in relation to the paper. Feel how much resistance you get when you raise your nib high from the paper versus when you put it lower and closer to the paper. This resistance is more obvious when doing upstrokes.
Put pressure on the nib and create vertical shades. Try to maintain even pressure as you go down a couple of spaces. Remember to align your nib to the slant lines so that the vertical edges of your shade are smooth.
Do another shade. Apply more pressure, then apply less. Try to get a feel for what amount of pressure you are most comfortable with. It comes with time and practice, but in order to produce consistent-looking letters, it is important that you know how heavy or how light your hand tends to write with a pointed pen, and that you maintain that same pressure as you write. You’ll also need to consider the height of your letters when deciding on the heft of your shades. For example, it’s a bit difficult to do thicker shades on smaller sizes.
Create wedge-shaped shades by starting with a full pressure and then gradually relieving it to a point. Do the opposite by starting with a point and applying full pressure.
Do some swirls, ovals, loops, or any fun shape you want. Put pressure whenever you’re doing a downstroke and let the nib glide when you’re doing an upstroke. Watch your transitions from shades to hairlines, and then back again. Try to keep the transitions as smooth as possible by gradually putting and lifting pressure as you go.
Whenever you write something that crosses or touches an existing stroke, watch how the ink interacts with what you’ve already written. If it’s a hairline with a hairline, it’s usually fine. If it’s a shade touching a hairline, it’s also usually fine. But notice when it’s a hairline crossing a shade, there’s a tendency for part of the hairline to get thicker right after it intersects the shade, usually when a fiber is dragged along. Notice too when a shade touches another shade that’s still wet, the ink will pool together and it does not look good.
As you practice, pay attention to the vent hole of your nib. The more you write, run out of ink, and re-dip your nib, the more you will get into the rhythm of it that you wouldn’t even need to look at the underside of your nib to tell that it’s time to dip again!